“Tonight I am proposing $1.2 billion in research funding so that
America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered
automobiles,” the former Texas oil man said, not quite a
Nixon-goes-to-China moment, since it actually hurts no corporation at
all, but still, at least he could promise “to make our air
significantly cleaner, and our country much less dependent on foreign
sources of energy.” Our air presumably will get a lot dirtier first: No
hydrogen cars are likely to make it on the road in the next decade, and
Bush is no fan of stricter fuel-efficiency standards.